Ep. 123: Debunking the CICO Myth: Calorie Deficits Are NOT Required For Fat Loss

The Energy Balance Podcast

In this episode we discuss:

• Whether “calories in, calories out” is physiologically accurate
• The many misconceptions related to “calories in, calories out”
• Why a calorie deficit is NOT required for fat loss
• Why “calories in, calories out” does not mean that eating less and exercising more is good advice for fat loss
• What most people miss when it comes to “calories in, calories out”

Free Energy Balance Food Guide: https://jayfeldmanwellness.com/guide

Free Energy Balance Mini-Course: https://www.jayfeldmanwellness.com/energy/

Check out the Energy Balance Solution program here: https://www.jayfeldmanwellness.com/solution/

Click here to check out the show notes: https://www.jayfeldmanwellness.com/ep-123-debunking-the-cico-myth-calorie-deficits-are-not-required-for-fat-loss/

Timestamps:

0:00 – intro

1:07 – questions about the calories-in, calories-out (CICO) model of weight loss that I’ll be answering

7:18 – what is (and isn’t) a calorie?

11:49 – misapplications of CICO and why CICO is not physiologically accurate in the ways most people use it

19:46 – why the idea that “a calorie is a calorie” is misleading

29:11 – how energy in food is measured and the inaccuracy of food labels

36:16 – the impact of behavioral compensation and metabolic adaptation on energy expenditure

42:07 – how cutting calories lowers metabolism, reduces thyroid function, and increases stress hormones, appetite, and weight regain

48:26 – Herman Pontzer’s Constrained Model of Energy Expenditure and the adverse effects of energy deficits

52:21 – whether CICO can accurately represent physiology

1:00:04 – a simplified version of CICO

1:05:41 –why calories do not equal usable energy or weight

1:13:27 – examples demonstrating the issues with common CICO misconceptions

1:21:09 – summarizing the central issues with CICO and how you can lose body fat without a caloric deficit

1:28:13 – whether there’s value to CICO